adj

ephemeral

eh-FEH-muh-ruhl

adj

Lasting for only a short time; fleeting.

"Fame on social media can be ephemeral — huge one week, forgotten the next."

"Their friendship turned out to be ephemeral, fading within a year."

How to Use Ephemeral

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishSomething that doesn't last long.

When to use it

A literary/formal word — in everyday speech people usually just say "short-lived" or "temporary".

Memory tip

Picture a mayfly — it lives for one day. That's ephemeral.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

ephemeral beauty the ephemeral nature of fame an ephemeral moment

more ephemeral comparative, ephemerals plural, most ephemeral superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

Fame on social media can be _____ — huge one week, forgotten the next.

From Greek ephemeros, "lasting a day" — originally used for short-lived flowers and insects.

earthly brief evanescent deciduous fleeting flying fugacious fugitive instant momentary passing perishable

lasting eternal perennial persistent

very brief death continuous extreme quick secular eternal

feral general liberal funeral lateral mineral federal several visceral bilateral collateral unilateral

earthly brief evanescent deciduous fleeting flying fugacious fugitive instant momentary passing perishable